If you are transgender or non-binary and need a U.S. passport in 2026, the rules are strict and clear: the State Department will issue your passport only with an M or F marker matching your biological sex at birth, regardless of what you request on the application. The X marker is gone, self-certification is gone, and an amended birth certificate does not appear to override the policy. A transgender passport application filed today produces a document reflecting birth sex, though any passport already in your wallet stays valid until it expires.
What You’ll Get If You Apply Now
The State Department determines your sex marker from your supporting documents and its records of your prior passports. Ask for an X, or ask for a marker that differs from your birth sex, and the Department warns you will likely see delays. You may get a letter or email requesting more information. The passport that eventually arrives will show your biological sex at birth.1U.S. Department of State. Sex Marker in Passports
If your birth documentation doesn’t include sex information, you can still apply. The Department will contact you and request additional documents to establish biological sex for the new passport.1U.S. Department of State. Sex Marker in Passports
This is a sharp departure from the rules in place before January 20, 2025, when applicants could self-select M, F, or X without medical documentation. Executive Order 14168, issued that day, directed federal agencies to define sex as an immutable biological classification determined at conception and instructed the Secretary of State to conform passports to that definition.2The White House. Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government Because the order and the State Department’s language refer to sex “at conception” and “at birth” rather than what current documents show, an amended birth certificate reflecting a gender change does not appear to override the policy.
If You Already Hold a Passport With X or a Non-Birth Marker
Your existing passport is still valid. All passports remain valid for travel until they expire, are replaced by the applicant, or are invalidated under federal regulations.1U.S. Department of State. Sex Marker in Passports You are not required to replace it early. But any renewal or replacement you file will produce a passport with your birth sex.
Think carefully before voluntarily swapping a passport that still matches your identity. If it works for travel and won’t expire soon, there may be no practical reason to give it up.
If you do want to replace it, two paths exist:
- Passport issued less than one year ago: replace by mail using Form DS-5504. No application fee, though the $60 expedite fee applies if you want faster processing. A new photo is required if the passport was issued more than six months ago.1U.S. Department of State. Sex Marker in Passports
- Passport issued more than one year ago: you may be eligible to renew using Form DS-82, with full passport fees.1U.S. Department of State. Sex Marker in Passports
Applying or Renewing: Forms, Fees, and Timing
The mechanics of applying haven’t changed. If you can submit your most recent passport, were at least 16 when it was issued, it was issued less than 15 years ago, it hasn’t been damaged or reported lost or stolen, and it was not issued with limited validity, you can renew by mail using Form DS-82.3U.S. Department of State. U.S. Passport Renewal Application for Eligible Individuals Otherwise you’ll file Form DS-11 in person at a passport acceptance facility, often a post office, library, or clerk’s office.4U.S. Department of State. Application for a U.S. Passport
Fees for 2026:5U.S. Department of State. United States Passport Fees
- Adult passport book (DS-11): $130 application fee plus a $35 execution fee, totaling $165
- Adult passport book renewal (DS-82): $130
- Adult passport card (DS-11): $30 plus the $35 execution fee
- Expedited processing: $60 on top of regular fees
Routine processing runs four to six weeks; expedited service takes two to three weeks.6U.S. Department of State. Processing Times for U.S. Passports Add up to two weeks for mailing in each direction. Pay by check or money order made out to the U.S. Department of State.
You’ll need proof of citizenship (birth certificate or naturalization certificate), a government-issued photo ID for DS-11 applicants, and a passport photo taken within the last six months against a plain white or off-white background.7U.S. Embassy and Consulates in France. Passport Photos If you’re changing your name at the same time, submit a certified court order or marriage certificate linking your old and new names.8U.S. Department of State. Application for a U.S. Passport for Eligible Individuals Originals or certified copies only; photocopies get rejected.
Getting Through Airport Security
Traveling with a passport sex marker that doesn’t match your gender presentation is stressful, but it isn’t illegal and shouldn’t keep you off a flight. TSA’s Secure Flight program uses the gender on your reservation to eliminate false name matches with watch lists, not to evaluate your gender. Officers checking IDs verify that the name on the ID matches the boarding pass; they are not supposed to comment on whether your appearance matches your ID photo or sex marker.
If you’re selected for a pat-down, TSA policy requires the officer performing it to match your gender presentation, not the marker on your ID. A transgender woman should be searched by a female officer, a transgender man by a male officer.
A few practical steps reduce friction:
- Match the name and sex on your airline ticket to what appears on the ID you’ll show at security.
- Carry supporting documentation. If you have to show multiple IDs with different sex designations, a court order for a name or gender change helps explain the mismatch.
- Consider TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. PreCheck lanes generally let you bypass body scanners.
- File a civil rights complaint through TSA’s contact center if you experience discrimination from an employee.
Other Federal Records and State IDs
The executive order reached beyond passports. On January 31, 2025, the Social Security Administration issued guidance prohibiting changes to the sex designation on Social Security records. The card itself doesn’t display a sex marker, but the underlying record does, and it connects to credit reports, medical records, and background checks. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services likewise stopped self-certification, recognizes only male or female across its documents, and treats the birth certificate issued at or near birth as the controlling document; if a birth certificate appears amended, USCIS may require additional evidence of sex assigned at birth.
State-issued IDs run on separate rules. As of mid-2026, roughly 22 states plus the District of Columbia allow residents to select M, F, or X on a driver’s license, and about 21 of those use a straightforward process without medical certification. Eight states don’t allow gender marker changes at all, and several others require proof of surgery, a court order, or an amended birth certificate. Because of that patchwork, you may end up holding a state ID with one marker and a federal passport with another, which is why carrying supporting documentation is worth the trouble.
Pending Litigation That Could Change the Rule
The current policy is not necessarily permanent. In June 2025, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction in Orr v. Trump that would have required the State Department to keep issuing passports with the applicant’s chosen sex designation. The First Circuit declined to stay that injunction.9Supreme Court of the United States. Trump v. Orr
On November 6, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the district court’s order, letting the administration’s policy stay in effect while the case proceeds. The Court wrote that the administration is “likely to succeed on the merits.”9Supreme Court of the United States. Trump v. Orr The underlying case continues to work through the courts, so how the First Circuit and ultimately the Supreme Court rule on the full merits could shift the landscape again.
For now, plan on federal identity documents reflecting biological sex at birth, and watch the litigation if you’re considering whether to apply now or wait.